


A Possible Side Quest

by Arabella_is_the_nickname



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: But you do you boo, Gen, Hiatus, Illnesses, Light spoilers for the latest episodes? Idk it just makes more sense if you're all caught up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:09:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24902113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arabella_is_the_nickname/pseuds/Arabella_is_the_nickname
Summary: A possible side quest for the time gap, while we are patiently waiting for the crew to start the stream again.
Kudos: 10





	1. The Evidence

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a very unorthodox form for most fan fictions BUT this is what happened when biology major critters who are all caught up were left very bored in quarantine. We formed our own Nott the Best Detective Agency of sorts to imagine what could have transpired in the time gap, that would still (sort of) make sense with canon. But there will be an alternate ending I’ll post at the very end that goes WAY off course but hey it’s fun to think about.   
> We’ve been discussing the details of it while we wait, to keep Critical Role in our life with each other, while the team is taking the time to safely start the stream again. This is what we’ve come up with.

It began with ~39:00 in episode 99, when they joke about Fjord having tonsillitis when searching for the orb in Fjord's body. (But we’re bio students. We seriously thought about the possibility & ramifications. A particular line from Talks came to mind (the one about ep.38), when Taliesin said that the party, in either campaigns, never really had to deal with disease. So, we wondered what would happen if they did.)

If we take the base time of when they were at the Menagerie Coast (~six days since the party and ~four days since leaving with the armada) we get a timeline that matches up with the following:

The textbook incubation period is approximately 2-4 days. Assuming Fjord was asymptomatic, we have a carrier. If bacterial, tonsillitis can remain contagious for up to two weeks (7-10 days if viral). 

We know a disease in the fantasy world wouldn’t be the exact same in terms of symptoms or severity (ex. the fantasy Dengue fever in ep 38), but because the timeline checked out, it got our bio brains thinking about the potential of a similar fantasy disease. It is also worth noting that the severity could be affected by magical means, once a time period has passed, or manually by the user. Meaning it could have been planted, then made worse the longer it was in the body, etc.

We assume there is someone who benefits from the war. While the validity of the plan is reflected in its success, its a motive to poison those who will be at the peace talks with a disease, to stop the meeting. If it was an inside job (à la hot boi Essek, {🥰 we love him}) they would have been at the party or part of the armada, and could have easily infected a member of the Balleater.

After the peace talks, the day the dragon turtle came puts it at about two weeks since the party. With the previous established timeline and incubation periods, it still remains on the ship.


	2. The Pulse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright lads time to actually begin the story. Don't worry: it's not all going to be in the bulleted list form. Because that reminds me of PowerPoint. And PowerPoint is boring. [+1 point if you got that reference]  
> So, we just got the official announcement tonight that CR is starting up again next week! WOOT WOOT!  
> Which also means that I need to get all of this out ASAP.  
> With the latest episode of narrative telephone fueling me, I'm going to try to finish this thang. [+1]  
> But without any further ado here's the next chapter LET'S GOOO

The Mighty Nein, seeing the dragon turtle emerge from the waves, ready their weapons in anticipation of the upcoming fight. 

The massive spiked brown and green shell becomes larger as the dragon turtle emerges from the waves. The fear in their hearts rising with every meter the shell does.  
But as the gang watches, the wind shifts. The comparatively small, scaly head of the monster snaps in the opposite direction of the ship. To their amazement, the creature dives under the water- and does not resurface. 

A few moments pass, yet they still refuse to let up their battle stances. The Mighty Nein quickly swap glances between each other, and and the spot on the horizon where a big, destructive monster was not a minute before. 

Caduceus is the first one to break. The firbolg leans forward onto his staff with a smile, letting a soft “Huh,” escape his lips. He cocks his head in childlike wonder as he keeps his eyes glued to the distance. 

Fjord, on the other hand, is not as amused. Letting his sword fall to his side, he runs to the edge of the ship. Jamming his abdomen into the railing, the half orc leans as far over the ocean as he possibly can, trying to see what is left of the giant turtle vanishing into the distance. 

Fjord’s voice is low with disbelief as he mutters, “There’s no way.” His arms hang limply over the side of the ship as it literally sinks in that the turtle is gone. “I’ve heard of these creatures. They devour ships without a second thought. Why would it just turn away?” He asks.

As Caleb steps up behind him, everyone else finally relaxes their battle stances. 

Beau, the only member without any metal or magical means of attacking, unclenches her fists and anxiously twirls her staff. She takes the opportunity to also fully let out the breath she had been holding in her tense stance. As she does so, a small pulse unexpectantly makes its way through her body, and something catches in her exhale. Her sigh of relief alarmingly turns into a choked attempt at clearing her throat. 

Hoping no one noticed, Beau stomps her way to just behind the group. With her luck she probably inhaled a bug or something. Though moving forward proved much more difficult than she anticipated. She tried to clench her fists once again and muscle through it, but the shockwave that ran through her body a minute before was now replacing her blood with molasses as every beat of her heart was slower than before. 

Her staff dropped to the deck of the ship as she realized she didn’t posses the strength anymore to hold it. She forced a hand up to her face, confused to see it was paler than the tan skin she had acquired over the last few weeks at sea. As the pulse once again rocks her body, a thought barely has the time to flash through her mind: What the f-

The rest of The Mighty Nein continues to stare out at the vast ocean, pondering the whereabouts of their newly found giant turtle acquaintance. Before they can question this too much longer, the abrupt gasp of their blue cleric breaks the silence. 

“You guys?” She says, breathless with panic, “A little help here?”

They all turn around just in time to see Jester trying to keep their resident monk from collapsing onto the deck. The turtle momentarily forgotten, the rest of the party immediately rush over to Beau. 

“What’s wrong with her? What happened?” Veth’s words tumbled out as she reached a hand up to try and stabilize Beau’s balance.

“I don’t know!” Jester’s voice had taken on a worried squeak at the end of her exclamation. “She just fell over!”

Caduceus calmly floated over to Beau, inspecting her barely conscious face. “I have an idea. We really need to lie her down, though. Can someone-”

Without a word, Yasha leans down and effortlessly picks Beau up. On the journey down the stairs toward the rooms, Jester reached for her hand, whispering, “Hang in there Beau.”

Before the world completely slipped away into unconsciousness, Beau’s last thought was that she hoped she was turning red because of the fever slowly beginning to settle into her body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And down goes Beau. We had to pick someone and we love in the episodes where she has fantasy Dengue fever and she completely denies her own body's warnings that she's sick even though it just gets worse. And then just continues on with her day.  
> Because as college students... we relate. But this time it's because of someone's MAGICAL POWERS [+2 for that reference].


	3. The Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're just going to keep on trucking!  
> I've gotten some positive feedback and I just want to say that if you've gotten this far I really appreciate you for reading and I'm glad someone likes it! It means a lot. So thank you.  
> Enjoy!

After gently laying her down on her bed below deck, the clerics quickly got to work. While they proceeded to try and figure out what was wrong with their monk, the monk in question woke up just enough to protest.

With her tired, slurred speech she tried to convey that she just got dizzy, she’s fine, it was probably the heat. As her one sided argument became more and more vocal, the medicine check became less of both of them checking her over, and more Jester holding her down on the bed as Caduceus did the actual healing.

It wasn’t until Beau muttered the words: Fjord needs his first mate, that anyone said anything.

Taken aback by this, Fjord stepped forward into Beau’s eye line. Leaning down, he spoke in a voice that was far more serious than anyone else was expecting. “I do need my first mate. We all do. So I need to make sure that she’s healthy. Which means that you need to let the clerics do their jobs. So please, Beau, just lie down.”

Nobody was sure if the words reached Beauregard or not in her state, but she stopped fighting the cleric’s help. Whether it was from Fjord’s words or just her getting drained of strength, they wouldn’t know.

After a few minutes, Caduceus gave his diagnosis. “It’s just some sort of fever. Though it’s a stronger variant than I recall seeing with this. Let’s see if this does the trick.”

Reaching forward, he gently placed a hand on Beau’s arm, releasing a burst of magic. A soft pink light glowed all across the chamber, until it faded away. As did the pale hue that Beau had taken on. With a soft sigh, she turned over and drifted off to a comfortable sleep.

Moving his hand onto her forehead, Caduceus nodded. “Fever’s gone, though I expect it took a lot of her strength. We’ll have to ask her later how long she has been feeling unwell. With a good night’s sleep she should be feeling back to herself in the morning.”

Relief and a sense of closure came to the group. With Jester volunteering to keep a watch over her for a little bit, the rest of the crew ran back upstairs to see if their large, mossy shelled friend had returned.

Though curiously, the dragon turtle did not return. The disease, however, did.

That night, while Jester was keeping a watch over their monk, someone knocked on the doorframe of the room. Looking over, Jester saw the small figure of Veth standing in the doorway.

“What’s wrong? Are you sick too? It’s the middle of the night, you know.” Jester quickly asked.

Veth shook her head, nervously tapping the holster where her flask used to be. “No, it’s.. I heard coughing, and it woke me up. I think it’s Fjord.”

Without hesitation, the two of them headed down the hallway to their captain’s quarters. Jester began to run when she heard coughing.

Sure enough, the half orc was laying in bed, looking absolutely miserable.

“Oh Fjord!” Jester exclaimed, running over to immediately place a spell on his warm forehead. _Please, Traveler,_ she thought, concentrating as hard as she could.

The familiar green cloak enveloping her, she felt Fjord’s fever start to cool as soon as the light faded.

“Oh, thank The Traveler,” She sighed.

Looking up to Jester and Veth, Fjord gave a tired nod. “Thank you Jester. I’m sorry if I woke you up.”

Jester shook her head, and gave a soft laugh. “I wasn’t asleep, Fjord. But I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Veth spread her arms, saying, “You woke me up!” Though her annoyance quickly dissolved into worry for her friend.

Fjord laughed, not seeming very genuine when he said, “Sorry about that.” He weakly raised a finger, pointing at Veth and saying, “But now that Beau and I are both out of commission, I can offer you the role of captain as an apology.”

Veth’s eyes lit up with the possibilities, though she convinced herself it was a lingering fever dream. “With all due respect, captain,” She said, “I think I’m best as the powder monkey. Besides, who else is going to do my job as good as I do?”

Fjord hesitated. “Yasha, maybe? She has been picking it up pretty quickly.”

The newly restored halfling thought for a second, letting the jab sink in. “Well, maybe it is best that I take on the role as captain.” The joke hung into the air, until she continued, “After all, you’re pretty low on strength right now. Though it’s not much of a difference from the usual…”

“Alright, alright.” Fjord pulled the blanket back up past his shoulders. “I take the point.”

The three of them laughed, until the reality of the situation stared to fully sink in.

Veth gave a small smile, giving herself a temporary point for this one. “Well I’m going back to sleep. Goodnight, captain Tusktooth.”

Jester and Fjord bid her goodnight, and watched her scamper out of the room.

“You should get to sleep too, Jess. You need to stay healthy, especially if this is spreading around the ship.” Fjord said with some concern.

Jester crossed her arms and looked back to Fjord. “Don’t worry about me, Fjord. Get some sleep and I’ll see you first thing tomorrow morning.” She turned to bounce out to the hallway, stopping to look over her shoulder at the doorframe.

In a different state, he might have stayed up to argue, but his strength was sapped. So it only took a few moments for sleep to take him.

The cleric waited a few minutes, then walked back to Beau’s room. She was sleeping soundly, the same as when she had left her. Though rest tugged at the back of her mind, Jester wasn’t about to give up her duties so quickly. Whenever she sat in Beau’s room and started to drift off, she would shake herself awake, then take a walk and go sit in Fjord’s room.

  
She kept on going in this cycle until she lost track of who’s room she was in. Finally, she sat in someone’s room, fatigue settled in her bones. Just as she was about to make an attempt to get up, she heard a familiar and comforting voice whisper, _Rest, my dear Jester. You will need your strength for what is to come_.

Her last thought before drifting off was a green cloak covering her, making the coziest blanket, and the comfiest sleep she’s had in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Juts wanted to pop in and say I'm really fascinated with Jester's character. The depth that she has was something that I'm going to be honest, I never saw coming. But I love it so much. Jester just wants everyone to be happy. And she's still recovering from finding out about The Traveler. But she still is so concerned with everyone else. What a pure soul.


	4. The Morning

As the sun shone into Beau’s room that morning, she took a deep breath, enjoying the fact that her body was back into its peak punching capabilities. Though she also remembered, in too much detail, about what had happened the day before.

_Oh gods,_ she thought, rubbing her forehead. Whoever had messed with her was going to get it. But first, they had to figure out who.

Grabbing her staff, Beau hopped off the bed, stomping over to the door. However, in her way, there was a blue pile of limbs curled up at the foot of her bed.

Not sure what to do, Beau knelt next to Jester. Fast asleep, her breathing was slow and deep. But even though she was not a cleric, Beau could recognize the rasp and congestion in her breathing.

“Ah Jess,” Beau sighed. Getting up, she made her way to the firbolg’s room.

“Caduceus!” Beau yelled, while banging on the cleric’s door.

After a solid ten seconds of knocking, Yasha came up to Beau in the hallway.

“Beau? What are you doing?” She asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

The monk stopped knocking, and turned to look at Yasha.

“I’m just- fuc- tryin to find Caduceus. Jester’s sick now.” Beau sighed with some not-so-thinly veiled frustration.

Yasha slightly cocked her head. “He usually gets up early and makes breakfast. So he’s probably in the kitchen. But did you say Jester’s sick?”

Yasha’s question fell on an empty hallway, as Beau was already gone.

Not asking too many questions, Caduceus followed Beau back to her room, armed with a cup of tea. Quickly healing Jester and lifting her up onto the bed, the morning was once again (somewhat) peaceful onboard the Balleater.

Over breakfast on the deck of the ship, everyone exchanged information about what they knew about the disease. After Beau had confessed that it had come on suddenly, Fjord had confirmed that was exactly what had happened to him.

No matter what, everyone agreed that this needed to be sorted before the dragon turtle came back. Though that was a feat that was easier said than done.

Exhausted from staying up all night to make sure Fjord and Beau were okay, Jester was in bed until the late afternoon. By then, so had Caleb. And after dinner, it is Marius who is sick. (Because of course, says Beau with both contempt and concern)

As everyone puts in theories and questions how the disease got onboard, the mysterious fever began to work its way through everyone onboard, at a pace the clerics could barely keep up with.

Though after a few days, everyone is optimistic.

That is, until Caleb gets a ping in the back of his head. It is followed by the words _: I apologize for this- I know we did not part under the most amiable circumstances, but I need your assistance. Please,_

It is not a moment later that they all hear a heavy _thud_ hit the deck above.


	5. The Findings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we have it! The sort of resolution to this head canon of sorts. 
> 
> I did have to switch to a summary format sort of thing instead of a full story, but that's only because if I didn't it would be like thirty chapters. And 1) that's not anything anyone wants to see, 2) I really wanted to get this out before CR came back. And this way your creative juices can FLOW with imagining your own outcome to it. But uh, I'm sorry if I'm a tease for skimping on the ending but I'm actually really happy with how it turned out, considering I didn't think I could finish it. So... sorry not sorry?  
> Enjoy :)

As everyone runs upstairs, they see a familiar drow sitting on the deck of the ship- though he does not rise after his apparent teleportation. 

  
It only takes the clerics a few minutes to find what is ailing their friend, as it is the exact same fever that has taken hold of their ship for the past few days. 

  
It is only now, that the party starts to really panic. Initially, it was just on their ship. They had never conceived that it could be rampaging off of the waters. Which, was now a terrifying thought.

  
With the newly cured Essek’s help, they traced back the days and figured out that the fever had to have come aboard with them right before they left for the armada. Which, could have been from the party. Which, means that there are more people that were part of the peace talks that could be infected.  
The disease had just passed by the time of the peace talks, though it was most likely the intent of whoever had created it. If illness had broken out during the peace talks, it could have been construed as biological warfare to sabotage the peace.

  
But most concerning of all, if it was tracked back to the Mighty Nein, it would have been our trepid adventurers to blame for the continuing war. After all, many of them disappeared during the party at various intervals, and they technically did not have to be at the peace talks- they had insisted on being there. 

  
Jester, at Essek’s theory, burst into outrage- of course they would not have done such a thing.

  
Essek, in response, sadly smiled and told her that he knew that they would not do anything to harm the peace talks. They knew that their reasons had the best of intentions- but an outsider might not see it that way. 

  
Now armed with this information, the group decided that with their clerics and their cleverness, they need to figure out who was on the water at the time of the peace talks, and make sure that no one else gets affected by the disease. 

  
*CUE THE SIDE QUEST*

  
Turning the boat around, Fjord and Caduceus lead and expedition to the Menagerie Coast, where the rest of The Empire armada went to. At the same time, Caleb and Jester lead the teleportation with Essek back to The Dynasty, to find their armada. 

  
With the combined efforts of the Mighty Nein (including the biggest investigation that the Nott The Best Detective Agency has ever taken on), the group successfully cures those who were infected, and finds the culprit, before others are able to point the fingers to the group. 

  
The mystery is solved, with a few possible outcomes as to who did it. The one definite end is that the Mighty Nein was heralded as the group who uncovered an attempt to sabotage the peace talks. 

  
After the dust has settled, the adventuring party heads toward TravelerCon, same as before. It seems to many of them like nothing has changed.

  
Until their friend, the dragon turtle, emerges once again.

But this time, the creature comes straight for the ship. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back to the canon track.   
> I don't really know what else to say other than... thank you? For reading and making it this far. I appreciate you, sweet fellow critter.  
> And... IT'S ALMOST THURSDAY YA'LL! :) :) :)


	6. The Alternate Timeline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? The alternate ending that I promised?  
> It's short. But it outlines what would happen if we didn't have to keep with the canon. Because it would change a few things.  
> But yeah. Thanks for staying with me on this. It's been a week. This was my first fully written out fanfiction. Though I don't think it will be my last. We'll see. But you know what the good news is?
> 
> IT'S ALMOST THURSDAY!!!

As Jester communes with The Traveler the morning after she fell ill, she feels the comfort of the familiar green cloak around her once again. 

  
Her sketchbook snaps shut, but Jester is still not done. She sighs, and pours out her concerns for their group. The worry grows as Jester fears that the illness may not have just spread across the ship; she wonders if it had gotten out to the public in the Menagerie Coast. 

  
As TravelerCon looms closer, the both of them decide that is needs to be rescheduled- and it now serves a higher purpose. 

  
Heading back to the coast, Jester sends a few messages at the advice of her “god”. Once the Mighty Nein (after a little convincing) sail into the port, they get to work. 

  
Working with a few followers of The Traveler who live in the Menagerie Coast, they eradicate the disease before it can spread. Their healing is well needed to a few members of the community. And for those who do not believe that the disease is within their ranks, the followers of The Traveler work together to employ a more… chaotic approach to either convince them or heal them.

  
Though they still need to figure out who would want the war to continue badly enough to potentially set loose a disease that would infect an entire continent, they still considered the whole quest a win.

  
Saving the Menagerie Coast and The Empire from this disease, The Traveler is revered. Seeing his power heal themselves and others, he maybe gains a few more followers, and perhaps a seat as one of the approved gods in The Empire. The influx of new worshipers all across the continent would be reason for the old followers to have a less… personalized experience (save for Jester), and they would be excited for more friends.

  
As they set sail for TravelerCon, it seems as though nothing has changed, even though seemingly everything has changed. Holding her holy symbol close, Jester feels a surge in faith that she hasn’t felt in a long time. She breathes a big sigh and acknowledges that even if he wasn’t who she thought he was, his power is still something to marvel at.

  
Before they can think too much about what has happened, or what is to come, Orly yells from the front of the ship. 

  
The Mighty Nein lean over the railing, seeing the shell of a massive turtle begin to rise over the waves. Although this time, it is headed straight for the ship.


End file.
